The Not Too Distant Future
by Coriana
Summary: The past was only yesterday, and the future is only tomorrow. - One-hundred-word drabbles about the members of the SPR. An ABC prompts list. Round Two. 02: B is for Blame.
1. 01: A is for Adamant

Thank you for reading my new story. :-D These will all be drabbles (one-hundred words) concerning the members of the SPR.

This idea was inspired by Hodgeheg, so thank you very much! :)

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**A is for Adamant **

Adamant: utterly unyielding; inflexible.

**...**

He was unyielding when his mind was set. Once he had decided that he was going to court her, there was no escape from him. Ayako was uncomfortable with his wooing and made fun of him constantly, trying to change his mind. But that didn't stop the bouquet of roses from showing up at her door the next day.

She liked his attention. She liked him fawning over her and kissing her hand like a gentleman. She was an utter romantic at heart, and he was playing all the cards right.

But she wouldn't tell him. At least, not now.


	2. 02: B is for Betrothed

**B is for Betrothed**

Betrothed: engaged to be married.

**…**

Masako's father would often joke that she had a betrothed somewhere in the world, and that she couldn't marry anyone besides that person, whom he had already approved. When she was little, she always believed that she did have a betrothed, and she hoped eagerly for the day that her father would introduce them.

It wasn't until she was older did she realize that it was all a joke to keep her his little girl. Now she would smile, but it hurt more deeply than it should have.

Because now, she'd have to work to find somebody on her own.


	3. 03: C is for Coffee

**C is for Coffee**

Coffee: a beverage made from the roasted, ground seeds of certain coffee trees.

**…**

John didn't drink coffee, because it made him unreasonable hyper. And a hyper John would be something that _no one _would know how to deal with. John couldn't let himself get hyper, because in his eyes, it was the same as getting drunk. Unreasonable and possibly prone to something like a slip-up.

John was careful about such instances. He didn't need them to happen, so he made himself avoid them if it was possible. Because the last thing he needed was to slip something up when he had a loose tongue and mind.

And he didn't need that to happen.


	4. 04: D is for Deadbolt

**D is for Deadbolt**

Deadbolt: a lock bolt that is moved by the turning of a knob or key rather than by spring action.

**…**

There were things that Naru didn't yearn for – human contact being one of them. He liked solitude, but there were some people that he had begun not minding when they were around. People that could hold intelligent conversation, which he preferred in humans.

Those were the people that he had to be wary about. The ones that had managed to worm their way past his deadbolt. Because once they were there, he couldn't get them back out.

But he made sure they never knew how vulnerable he was, because that could wreak havoc that he would rather not deal with.


	5. 05: E is for Etching

**E is for Etching**

Etching: the act, art, or process of making designs or pictures by the corrosive action of an acid. (- Naru is an acid).

**…**

Some people leave scars on the hearts of people. Some leave bruises. People could leave minor scratches or stains, or break the heart. Some hearts, which were as fragile as glass, could shatter. Others, made of brick, took the pain and gashes without crying.

Mai thought her heart had shattered after Naru rejected her. She was wrong. Although her heart was not made of stone - no gashes marred the surface.

Naru hadn't left that. He had left an etching on her heart. An etching that could never be removed or faded, and would be imprinted on her heart, forever.


	6. 06: F is for Falling

**F is for Falling**

Fall: to drop under the force of gravity.

**…**

Monk would never have told anyone how jealous he actually was the time when he thought he saw Ayako and Naru kissing in the hallway on the monitor, after she had offered to walk him to his room. He couldn't understand why he was jealous, because he could not _possibly_ be falling for her.

So his foremost reaction was to ridicule her, to hide it. But she quickly turned the tides with her ritual of cleansing the ghosts with the bell and trees. He couldn't say anything degrading after that.

He had a lot of thinking to do about her.


	7. 07: G is for Grim

Yasu wanted to be in first person. ;-)

…

**G is for Grim**

Grim: stern and unyielding, of a sinister or ghastly character, having a harsh or forbidding air.

**…**

There's only one person I'm terrified of (besides my mom) and that would be… Lin.

It's good that the grim Lin avoids conversation, because then it makes it very easy for me to never have to try and talk to him. He's incredibly scary and when he looks in my general direction, he looks like he's going to kill something. Hopefully not me.

I must be some type of fly to him, constantly annoying him with my buzzing. Or he doesn't even know I exist.

I hope it's the latter, because that sounds like the safer of the two options.


	8. 08: H is for Home

**H is for Home**

Home: a house or other place of residence, the place in which one's domestic affections are centered.

…

Mai hadn't come back to a home since her parents died.

She hadn't been able to call any place a 'home'. It was always just a place that she lived. It was just a house that held no memories, besides the ones that could never exist.

But there was something different about the office she worked at. There was something about it that made her long to return as soon as she left. It took her awhile to realize why it had become so special to her – it was because it had given her a place to come home to.


	9. 09: I is for Ice

**I is for Ice**

Ice: the solid form of water, produced by freezing.

Loosely inspired by 'Titanium' by David Guetta.

…

Lin had always been criticized for his nationality and his practices in the old arts of magic. It had taken him a long time until their bullets ricocheted off of him. Unfortunately, the people had turned his heart to stone, which in turn became impossible to shatter or break him down.

His exterior had turned as icy as his interior – which was now a vast plane of ice and deep drifts of snow.

It didn't matter if they fired at him now; because there was no way he would fall. And it was because they had turned him into titanium.


	10. 10: J is for Justice

**J is for Justice**

Justice: the quality of being just; moral rightness.

…

There was one reason that John exorcised spirits. It was for the justice of the ghosts. The right that they had to decide their fate to go to Heaven or Hell, or to meet the Lord or the Devil. It was their own choice, and he was ready to grant them that decision.

But he had to be careful not to show any of his true motives to the church, who believed in removing all the 'evil spirits'.

He liked giving the ghosts the opportunity to redeem themselves, or re-find themselves. And he thanked Naru for allowing him that chance.


	11. 11: K is for Kindle

**K is for Kindle**

Kindle: to set fire to or ignite, to begin to burn.

…

Masako remembered the first kindling of love igniting in her stomach. She just happened to wish nearly every day that the ever growing fire was for someone else.

She wanted someone to look at her with the same emotion that she held for him. But he always looked at her in scorn because of the rope that she had tied so tightly around his neck.

She wanted him to love her. But all he could do was hate her.

All the while, the kindle of fire refused to turn into an ember and die.

And she hated herself for it.


	12. 12: L is for Lemongrass

**L is for Lemongrass**

Cymbopogon (Lemongrass): is native to India and tropical Asia. It is widely used as an herb in Asian cuisine. It has a subtle citrus flavor and can be dried and powdered, or used fresh.

…

There was a very distinct scent that Naru associated with Gene, a smell that had begun to make Naru's nose itch and just became very irritating as time went on. Gene would use it as he was meditating, but he certainly never passed up an opportunity to bug his brother. So he never used another scent after that.

Once, when Mai came smelling of lemongrass, Naru couldn't help the flood of memories and feelings that came on. He denied the tea and went into his office. Locking himself away from the scent.

Interestingly, the scent still wasn't pleasant to him.


	13. 13: M is for Mahogany

**M is for Mahogany**

Mahogany: any of certain tropical American meliaceous trees, yielding a hard, reddish-brown wood highly esteemed for making fine furniture.

…

There was something about mahogany wood that teleported Monk to a different timeframe in the world. Somewhere medieval and old.

The desk was made out of the smooth wood, moving like silk underneath his calloused fingertips. With its rich, red grain complexion and the deeply elegant curves, the luxurious shine of its polished surface, the antique desk was truly a fine masterpiece.

It reminded him of old battles and secret love hidden from all other eyes. The graceful lines and the hard texture blending into a perfect mixture of female and male.

Too bad the damn thing cost so much.


	14. 14: N is for Nocturne

**N is for Nocturne**

Nocturne: a piece appropriate to the night or evening, an instrumental composition of a dreamy or pensive character.

…

Old, romantically dreamy nocturnes were something that held a special emotion for Ayako. They left the sense of growing older and becoming an adult. They reminded her of the evening parties that her parents would hold mostly in the winter months – she used to not be able to attend them until she had become older.

And by then, she had become the guests' favorite part of the evening parties. Everyone would become so quiet and attentive when the teenage Ayako would sit down and play a nocturne on the baby grand piano for them. The piece was always her choice.


	15. 15: O is for Opalescent

**O is for Opalescent**

Opalescent: exhibiting a play of colors like that of the opal.

…

Mai was always pretty to look at, Yasu thought, under any given moment. She was always shining with a pure, iridescent light. The color just depended on the mood she was currently in.

When she was in deep thought about something, she had a deep, white glow to her. When she was in one of her lovesick moments, she was decked out in rich red and feminine purple. And when she was ecstatic, she was an array of beautiful colors. When she was sad, she looked mournful in gray and blue.

But whatever color she was, she was always pretty.


	16. 16: P is for Porcelain

**P is for Porcelain**

Porcelain: a vitreous, more or less translucent, ceramic body or ware; china.

Based on the song 'Porcelain' by Marianas Trench.

…

There were things that Gene wanted to tell Mai, but they were things he knew should never come from his lips. All he could do was watch her as she tried to figure everything out, but she could never do it all by herself.

If only she knew the simple melody of her tears moved him to no end. But he could never tell her.

The last thing that he ever wanted to say to her was that it was all right if she couldn't figure out what she needed yet, and that she would always be his perfect porcelain.


	17. 17: Q is for Quintessence

**Q is for Quintessence**

Quintessence: the pure and concentrated essence of a substance. The most perfect embodiment of something.

…

Seeing something as pure as the lights in the spirit realms left Mai breathless.

There were always lights in the upper worlds of the astral planes. They glittered and shined, lighting the way as Mai walked weightlessly through the plane. She would see fleeting views of guardians or astral teachers. They never spoke to her, and it left Mai to wonder if someone would one day come to tell her about the universe's mysteries.

She had a teacher, once.

Mai didn't realize that it was possible to cry in the astral realms, but tears started to come to her eyes.


	18. 18: R is for Reflection

**R is for Reflection**

Reflection: the act of reflecting or state of being reflected.

…

Contrary to popular belief, Noll hated his reflection.

The sight of it made his stomach turn. He avoided looking into mirrors by dropping his gaze from the reflective glass, shying away from the image it offered. Whenever he did look at himself, it emitted a sense of dread and failure in his gut. A guilty chain reaction.

He had failed his mirror-image. He had to force himself to look into his reflection and admit that. It was the only thing that he could offer his apology to.

Because the real person he wanted to say it to wasn't alive anymore.


	19. 19: S is for Sage

**S is for Sage**

Sage: a plant or shrub of the mint family with aromatic grayish green leaves used in cooking.

Note: The sage she would be using is white sage.

…

Masako had picked up old protection rituals from visiting America. She now ordered sage and sweetgrass bundles.

Once they arrived, she would start clearing away the negative energy that would stagnate inside the house, in a practice called smudging. She would make the sage smolder until it let off a steady, thick stream of smoke, then she would carry it around the house, letting the smoke clear the negative energy. The sweetgrass would follow, bringing in positive energy.

When she was done, the house felt peaceful and protected. No spirit could cross the threshold of her building after the practice.


	20. 20: T is for Tranquility

**T is for Tranquility**

Tranquility: peaceful; calm.

…

The forest was the only location where Ayako always felt tranquility.

When the trees started budding their baby green leaves, and growing with the quiet breeze and spring storms.

In the humid summer air, with the emerald green shine of the leaves and the playful, dappled sunlight. The pretty, chiming sound of the swaying leaves.

The cool, damp fall chill with the brilliant colors. The crunching leaves underneath the foot and the trees going dormant.

Even in the winter months, the trees were beautiful; incased in ice and snow. Their bare limbs waiting until the seasons could repeat themselves again.


	21. 21: U is for Undertones

**U is for Undertones**

Undertone: a low or subdued tone, as of utterance. An underlying quality or element, or an undercurrent.

...

Monk had always known there was obviously something more to 'Kazuya Shibuya' and his assistant. Well, he was more interested in Naru's secrets than Lin's, because he believed that Lin would kill him for looking up his history.

It wasn't until he truly started digging (with the help of his detectives in arms) that it became abnormal. It was all so strange to begin, but he didn't realize how far it would all go.

In the end, after everything was uncovered, Monk had to think if it would have been better not to go wandering around in someone else's past.


	22. 22: V is for Valkyrie

**V is for Valkyrie**

Valkyrie: one of the female spirits who take the souls of slain warriors to Valhalla.

…

Gene remembered reading about Norse mythology in his living life. They were the choosers of the slain on the battle field, declaring if the man would die or live. They would bring the souls either to Freyja's field, or to Odin's hall, Valhalla.

He never saw anybody come to him after his death. There was no being, no beautiful woman to take him away to the afterlife. Instead, he was frozen in time. Forever stuck on the Earth.

Then there was a beautiful valkyrie that came to him. And it was only through her that he found peace in himself.


	23. 23: W is for Whisper

**W is for Whisper**

Whisper: to speak or utter with soft hushed sounds, esp. with no vibration of vocal cords. To talk or tell softly and privately.

Set in the 'Blood-Soaked Maze' case.

…

John remembered them whispering. They hadn't been expecting an English-speaking person to be on the team.

He talked to them a couple times – once being the translator for Takigawa, telling 'Oliver Davis' that the monk really admired him. Mai wanted him to do it for her too, but they never got around to it. The case took off too fast.

In the corridor, he listened to them talk in hushed tones, about how the hoax might not last much longer. How they were afraid it would slip up.

John had returned quietly to base after that.

It wasn't his business.


	24. 24: X is for Xenolith

**X is for Xenolith**

Xenolith: a rock fragment foreign to the igneous rock in which it is embedded.

…

Something had changed with the employees of the SPR – one point when Noll wasn't looking; they had all banded together, becoming close friends with solid relationships. Except Lin, of course.

They made a type of formation, close to stone. Then they had stretched out their reach and grasped onto him, securing him into their structure and not letting go.

He stuck out, was something foreign compared to them, but he was attached. And he couldn't seem to disengage himself from them; they had grabbed on and _held_ on so tightly.

But he wasn't sure that he minded so much, anymore.


	25. 25: Y is for Yew

**Y is for Yew**

Yew: an evergreen tree or shrub with needlelike foliage.

Written for Blue-Starlight92, since she has a crush on John. ;-)

…

There was an old yew tree in the graveyard of a forgotten church. John would visit the tree whenever he had a problem in hand. The church was full of broken beams and crumbling walls, the pews were decayed and the floorboards were rotten.

The graveyard was overgrown, and the gravestones were hard to find from the tall, lush grass. The old yew tree stood amongst the stones, having been planted in replacement of a marker.

John believed he was the only person that still visited the tree, and would come to pray besides it.

The tree always listened quietly.


	26. 26: Z is for Zephyr

**Z is for Zephyr**

Zephyr: a gentle breeze. A fine, light fabric or yarn.

Written for Zerocchi, who requested something with Naru and Mai in it. I'm not sure if this is really what you wanted, but I did try. ^^

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To Noll, Mai was a soft breeze. She was gentle and caring. As he watched her standing there, he couldn't help wanting her a little closer, so that he could breathe in her scent.

Mai didn't know Naru was watching her, because she was lost in her own thoughts. There was something about Naru that was dominating – he never let his presence go unnoticed. He was harsh and sometimes ruthless, like a storm's winds that seemed like they would never let up.

It was only left to fate to know if their winds would calm enough to let them blend.

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Thank you so much to everybody who favorited/story alerted/reviewed this story! They really kept me going. :-D I enjoyed every review and insight of what people thought, and I apologize to anybody that I missed when I was sending out thank-you notes. I really appreciated everything!

Though, there's something else about this story… I'm going to make it loop. I shall restart from A and go back to Z. Because, honestly, it's really too short, isn't it? ^^

But I am going to mark this story as complete, because the first round is one, and it's fun to mark a story as such.

So, I hope that you'll continue to read, and thank you for everything!


	27. 01: A is for Adieu

Hello everyone to round two! Thank you for reading and please review!

This is in Mai's view.

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**A is for Adieu:**

Adieu: Goodbye, farewell. The act of taking one's leave; a farewell.

**…**

If I had known that my farewell with Gene would have been so short and abrupt, I would have said more in what little time I had.

He had truly been my first love, the one who had walked into my life and changed me into a better person.

I thought it had been Naru, but I had been mistaken. As Naru had unkindly pointed out.

Naru told me that night that Gene would wait for me for a hundred years, or even a thousand, if need be.

So, in a goodbye that can never be spoken, adieu, Gene. Adieu.


	28. 02: B is for Blame

**B is for Blame:**

Blame: To hold responsible. To find fault with; censure. To place the responsibility for (a fault, error, etc).

**…**

It was very easy to blame people that weren't here. Noll was no exception.

It was Gene's fault that he had come here after him, since Gene had been stupid enough to go on this trip anyway.

It was easy to blame Gene since Noll was now out of his used-to-be simple life. Now, he was in Japan with a group of ghost hunters and said people had wormed their way into his life.

It was Gene's fault that his life had become complicated.

Life used to be simple.

But it was Gene's fault that he had even met Mai.


End file.
